Pharmaceutical company warned about Facebook promo

U.S. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently sent a letter to drug-maker Novartis Pharmaceuticals regarding the use of a Facebook Share button in the promotion of a leukemia medication. As reported by PC World, the FDA asserted that the use of the Facebook promotion was in violation of the agency’s disclosure requirements.

The FDA letter, signed by Karen Rulli, is quoted as stating of the issue, “The shared content is misleading because it makes representations about the efficacy of Tasigna but fails to communicate any risk information associated with the use of this drug… In addition, the shared content inadequately communicates Tasigna’s FDA-approved indication and implies superiority over other products.”

Novartis is further quoted as releasing the statement regarding the FDA’s letter, “We have addressed its concerns by taking the direct and immediate action of taking down the widget referenced by the FDA… Novartis will continue to have active discussions with the FDA to understand fully all of the concerns. We also will assess all of our Web assets and materials based on these concerns.”